


Bloom

by TheEndofEternity



Category: Robot Series - Isaac Asimov
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 22:18:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16819561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEndofEternity/pseuds/TheEndofEternity
Summary: The five year anniversary of the founding of Baleyworld was celebrated even more than years before. But Elijah had no need to celebrate extravagantly, for the reason for his celebration was to be by his side until the day he died.





	Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> Idk why i wrote this just take it

It was the five year anniversary of the founding of Baleyworld. People gathered within city centers and mingled with various alcohols and foods and celebrating their liberation from the restrains of their psychology that formerly kept them within the steel catacombs of the earth cities. Many travelled to the surface, well-bundled and with hot drinks in hand, as a homage to their strength in the face of the unknown. 

But the settlement's founder and chief influencer had performed these stunts many times and had celebrated all the way from point A to point B. While he was happy to see the jubilation that came from the pride of the population, he had other ideas in mind for the day. 

Elijah Baley slowly blinked open his eyes, allowing the creeping artificial light from the window to pull him into full consciousness. 

Feeling the warm grip around his waist, he turned around to look into the glistening blue eyes of his husband, clearly wide awake yet blissfully peaceful. 

"Good morning, Elijah." He beamed.

Elijah leaned in slowly for a kiss. "G'morning sweetheart. What time is it?"

"8:32."

"Perfect. I think we can lie here for a little longer."

Daneel rubbed circles with his fingers on his husband's chest. "Did you have any ideas in mind for today? If you recall, it is Founder's day, so there will be plenty to do if we so please. Not work, naturally." He smiled.

"Going to the park?"

"I like that idea."

"Lying in bed all day?" 

Daneel gave him a small, teasing smile. "That one too. But perhaps you should have breakfast first."

"In bed?"

"If you insist."

Daneel stood up, looking neater than any human ever would freshly out of bed but nonetheless with characteristics of dishelvedness. Things that Elijah would never get tired of, like the way his hair goes this way and the other and playfully frames his face so well. 

Elijah grimaced at the thought of what he might look like, although he knew that Daneel would never mind. This didn't stop him from directing his eyes downwards from the mirror as he got ready in the morning. Yawning, he sat up in bed, grabbing a shirt hung neatly over the frame and pulling it on. 

Meanwhile, Daneel had seemingly gotten dressed in the blink of an eye. Notably, Daneel's hair was not as slicked back and conservative as it was when they first met, but he maintained a bit of a side partition (Elijah had commented on it after one night and his compliments, he supposed, had stuck within Daneel's psyche enough for him to make the adjustment). 

With the raise of a hand, Daneel left the room. Within a short few minutes, he returned carrying a bowl of assorted fruits (Elijah had since come to appreciate rather than fear) and a mug of coffee. He set the coffee on the bedside table and situated himself and the bowl of fruit on the bed. 

Elijah instinctively reached out an arm to pull Daneel close to his body, to which Daneel happily obliged. They lied like this for a little over an hour, long enough for Elijah to finish his breakfast and then some. 

Daneel looked up at his husband quizzically. "Are you sure you didn't want to join in the festivities. They are, after all, largely celebrating the achievements of yourself."

Elijah grunted. "Not just me by a long shot. A lot of these people had zero exposure to the outside world before joining the movement. I more than anyone had a chance to get accustomed to it all. And for that matter, you should be celebrated as well."

Daneel cocked his head, then looked down in a gesture that Elijah had come to know very well as indicating shyness. "I'm not entirely sure that's fair. I haven't done nearly as much as you have, Elijah. I suppose I do not feel that my actions are worthy of celebration."

Elijah sighed. "Daneel, you've been everything." He pulled him in closer and kissed him on the head. "I could have never done anything without you. Which leads me to this: did *you* want to participate in any of the festivities?"

Daneel looked forward and blinked, seeming to take a moment to think. "I have been invited to a party hosted by the ambassador of the botanical sciences. She would very much be grateful if both of us were to come. However, there is no pressure on either of us to do so. I am happy doing anything as long as I'm with you." He smiled up at Elijah saying this.

Elijah hesitated for a moment. "You seem to really want to go to this."

Without hesitation, Daneel nodded his head. 

Another sigh. "Alright. We'll do it this way. Half the day we'll spend being lazy and drinking coffee. The rest of the day is for you." A fleeting frown crossed his face. "I suppose I'll have to dress up for this affair."

Daneel shook his head. "I don't believe that a dress code will be enforced, especially for the guest of honor."

Elijah chuckled. "So that's what they're calling me now. Alright," he said, patting Daneel on the arm,"Sounds like a plan."

For the next few hours, they watched painfully cheesy earth productions on the holoviewer (fortunately, none involving either of them, nor crude misrepresentations of their true character or, as Elijah sees it, painful underestimation of Daneel's beauty. Not that such an imitation would be easy to find). 

Elijah accompanied Daneel to the kitchen around lunch time, still comfortably dressed, and held him loosely around the waist as he cooked lunch, barring the moments in which he operated a knife, in which Daneel obliged that he back away for his safety. 

After a couple more hours of nothing much, it was time to prepare for the party. Elijah ended up cleaning himself up to a presentable degree, but felt fortunate that he did not need to look elaborate. While Daneel followed in his footsteps, it did not take much for him to look elaborate, even in a simple knit turtleneck and black pants. 

Fortunately, their years together had eradicated much of Elijah's uncomfortable feeling that he was being judged for being with someone so much better looking than himself (which Daneel would refute for days), and far too many simply expected to see them together rather than alone. It was an easy assumption to make, for their relationship had at this point been heralded as a model to anyone on the colony or otherwise who doubted the existence of true love. 

Of course, Daneel's little persistent kisses along his neckline and the way he gently held his shoulders while he looked at himself in the holomirror helped quite a bit as well. 

Since Daneel was able to dress and ready himself quite efficiently (and with seemingly little effort), it was usually Elijah who would signal if it was time to leave. He reached out a hand to Daneel, smiling, and they walked out of their dwellings arm in arm. 

\----------  
"My favorite botanist!"

As soon as they entered the venue, Elijah had to temporarily separate his hand from Daneel as he was swooped into a hug by a woman who couldn't have been any taller than 150 cm tall. She turned to hug Elijah immediately after. 

"And the savior of humanity himself. I'm so glad that you could make it. You look sharp."

Elijah smirked, more so at the fact that Daneel enthuastically nodded at this statement in the background. 

Her name was Mariska Bogner, and she worked as both the ambassador for Botanical sciences and the head of the all active greenhouses on Baleyworld South. When Daneel had obtained citizenship on Baleyworld, there were still many people who were reluctant to hire a robot for paid labor. Mariska was not one of them, and she immediately employed Daneel in a position doing general maintenance and inventory in one of the central greenhouses. And they've continued to work closely together for the years that followed. 

"Thank you, Mariska. Have you brought the Founder's day bouquet we set up together with you? I would love for Elijah to see it."

She smiled widely, saying nothing, and turned to walk in towards the ballroom, gesturing the men to follow her. 

When they arrived to the main room, Elijah couldn't believe his eyes. In the center sat a massive globe composed of varied colors of flowers arranged to match the view of Earth from above. Within orbit was another spheroid, slightly smaller in size, and from the formations of the glaciers represented upon it it was clearly meant to be Baleyworld. Party goers took turns crowding around it and having their pictures taken, some holding a Baleyworld flag, others cheekily brandishing apples or other produce to represent the things that they had gained since moving off-world.

"That is absolutely beautiful. You helped work on this, Daneel?"

Daneel nodded his head humbly, but Mariska immediately chimed in. "Not only that, it was his idea."

A laugh in the face at all the people who thought it was impossible for a robot to be creative, Elijah thought. 

Finally, Daneel spoke. "While many of my initial skills in the botanical realm lie in the technical, I had been wanting to explore more of the creative end of floral and bouquet design. This is especially important since our rise in growth and biodiversity has introduced the availability of commercial floral arrangements."

Elijah couldn't help himself. He pulled him in for a chaste kiss. "You did a wonderful job."

Mariska stood at the side, looking passive but no doubt internally melting as she watched the couple. "Shall I introduce your husband to some of our new recruits, Daneel? I think he'll like Alexander. Very adventurous, him."

Daneel grinned, nodding, and he slipped his hand into his husband's and headed towards another group.


End file.
